Schools
Stony Brook Study: Job Loss Increases Death Risk
Study says risks are much higher for men who lost their jobs than for unemployed women.
Losing a job isn't just a financial hardship, it could lead to an early death, a new study by a team of scientists shows.
Researchers found the risk of premature death to be 63 percent higher in people who have had a period of unemployment compared to those who have held on to their jobs. The death risk is greatest in the first 10 years after the loss of their jobs, according to the findings.
Men were found to be more likely to be adversely affected by unemployment than woman. Unemployed men's risk of premature death was 78 percent higher than employed men. Women who lost their jobs were 37 percent more likely to die early than women who stayed employed.
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The study, released Friday, says the death risk is also greater in people younger than 50.
“The results suggest a causal relationship between unemployment and higher risk of death, as well as the need to identify strategies to minimize the adverse health effects of unemployment,” said Joseph E. Schwartz, the Stony Brook University professor of psychiatry and behavioral science who conducted the study.
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While results showed that the mortality risk has remained constant for the last 50 years, Schwartz noted the pressing need to study the connections between unemployment, health risks and death, especially when the nation’s unemployment level is at 8.8 percent as of March. August 2010 saw the rate at its highest in 25 years, at 9.6 percent, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.
The study, titled “Losing Life and Livelihood: A systematic review and meta-analysis of unemployment and all-cause mortality,” was created by analyzing 40 years of unemployment and mortality statistics of working-age men and women, predominantly from Western countries.
Schwartz and his team said future research should focus on “possible mediating, moderating and confounding factors, and on whether the risk of death could be modified in individuals, either at the health care system level or individual level.”
The researchers also suggested establishing public health initiatives targeted at unemployed people, such as more aggressive cardiovascular screening and interventions to reduce risk-taking behaviors.
The results of the were published in Social Science & Medicine.
